Open systems science is the methodology employed to manage and solve the problems in systems whose operation involves interaction with the outside world, as opposed to being ‘closed’ and complete within themselves. This new methodology was first announced at the 20th anniversary symposium of Sony CSL in 2008. Falling outside the direct scope of traditional science, an open system usually consists of multiple subsystems with varying numbers, relations and functions.

Throughout the last decades, computer scientists, addressing the problems presented by globalization and the massive expansion in the application of new technologies, began to realize that open systems science could provide some of the solutions they were seeking with regard to ‘complex’ and ‘dependable’ systems.

Starting with a chapter explaining the basic concept of open systems science, this book goes on to present the work of contributors from a variety of different disciplines, who explain how open systems science can be applied to their field. Including topics such as; biological robustness, the application of open systems methods to develop new drugs, the study of language and meaning, the interdisciplinary field of visual computing and user interfaces as the merger between the real and virtual world, this book explores the directions of science and technology in the 21st century and will be of interest to all those involved in the development and operation of complex interactive systems.